Rabu, 17 September 2008

IPOH: There is no necessity for divisions to meet to discuss the transition of power in Umno, said supreme council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

“This is because all parties had agreed (to the timeline) and we should respect what had been decided before, he said yesterday when responding to news reports on a meeting between party president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak over the issue.

Zahid, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said the meeting between the two leaders was to re-emphasise the 2010 agreement for the transition of power from Abdullah to Najib.

Zahid said Abdullah met Umno division leaders early this year and it had been agreed that the transition would be in 2010.

The Prime Minister had also raised the matter at the supreme council, with Barisan Nasional leaders and with the Cabinet, and they agreed to it, added Zahid.

Describing Abdullah as better than previous leaders, Zahid said other national leaders had never referred the question of power transition to the grassroots.

“Why is it that he (Abdullah) is seen as not obtaining the feedback of the grassroots (on the power transition issue)?” asked Zahid.

KOTA BARU: Ceramah at mosques should not be broadcast too loud to a point where it disturbs the neighbourhood, especially those held in the evenings, said Perlis Mufti Dr Asri Zainul Abidin.

He said yesterday the call for azan (prayer times) should be broadcast accordingly and clearly to remind Muslims in the area to perform their requirement of praying five times daily.

“Other than the azan, other activities at the mosques, including private prayers, should not be broadcast at decibels deemed to be disruptive to neighbours in the area,” Dr Asri said after a motivation talk at Balai Islam.

He said Islam did not require its activities in mosques to disrupt the lives of others as what was enshrined in its teachings.

Dr Asri also defended his stance that the Internal Security Act (ISA) was unIslamic and disputed the contention of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Ahmad Zahid had said the definition of ISA was that it concerned national security and not religious practices.

IPOH: There is no necessity for divisions to meet to discuss the transition of power in Umno, said supreme council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

“This is because all parties had agreed (to the timeline) and we should respect what had been decided before, he said yesterday when responding to news reports on a meeting between party president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak over the issue.

Zahid, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said the meeting between the two leaders was to re-emphasise the 2010 agreement for the transition of power from Abdullah to Najib.

Zahid said Abdullah met Umno division leaders early this year and it had been agreed that the transition would be in 2010.

The Prime Minister had also raised the matter at the supreme council, with Barisan Nasional leaders and with the Cabinet, and they agreed to it, added Zahid.

Describing Abdullah as better than previous leaders, Zahid said other national leaders had never referred the question of power transition to the grassroots.

“Why is it that he (Abdullah) is seen as not obtaining the feedback of the grassroots (on the power transition issue)?” asked Zahid.

Extracted from the Blog ... I'm Outta My Mind ... Zahid's FlawIn the wake of the recent ISA arrests, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department claimed that the detainees had to be blamed. He said that those detained had ignored past warnings and history when they chose to propagate disharmony in the society.

Being a former detainee himself, we must all think that this guys knows what he's taking. He defends the act since it's for the greater good.

Then came his flaw.

'He also lambasted those who wanted to use religious principles in justifying whether the ISA was Islamic or not, adding they must differentiate between criminal, civil and syariah laws.'

BAGAN DATOH: The arrest of blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin under the Internal Security Act (ISA) yesterday afternoon should serve as a warning to irresponsible bloggers who flout the law, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He said many bloggers might be thinking that they could get away from facing the ISA if their blogs were based overseas and therefore not subjected to this country’s laws.

“It is not appropriate that the ISA is used against Raja Petra while the other irresponsible bloggers are free to do as they please,” he told reporters at Kampung Sungai Burung, here yesterday.

He was commenting on Raja Petra’s arrest following his article titled ‘I promise to be a good, non-hypocritical Muslim’ which contained remarks that insulted Muslims, besides allowing postings that insulted Islam and Prophet Muhammad in the article, ‘Not all Arabs are descendants of the Prophet’, that appeared in the ‘Malaysia Today’ website.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also MP for Bagan Datoh, believed that the police would also act against other bloggers who hurt racial and religious sensitivities through their articles or comments.

“Any statement that incites the people cannot be ignored but must be dealt with sternly in accordance with the law’ against the offender,” he said.

Khamis, 11 September 2008

IPOH: Having Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad rejoin Umno is a good move as he could help strengthen the party that is facing various problems now, Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

“Personally, I think bringing Tun back is a good move,” he told reporters after attending a buka puasa gathering with Perak Umno leaders on Tuesday.

Zahid, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, was responding to a news report on Wednesday that the former party president had agreed to rejoin Umno after having resigned from the party in May.

Zahid said he was certain that Dr Mahathir had not been persuaded to return to Umno.

“It might be because Dr Mahathir was of the view that it was time for him to return to Umno to strengthen the party which was now facing various problems,” Zahid added.

“I don’t think anyone in Umno should be worried about Tun returning to the fold,” he said.

On how party leaders would handle Dr Mahathir if the former prime minister continued to make strong statements against the current leadership after his return to Umno, Zahid said:

“We really need Tun to give his advice and views but those opinions should be made behind closed doors and not openly through the media.

“His views should be deemed opinions of a statesman. We respect Tun as a statesman and the former leader of the party,” he added.

Zahid also clarified that the media included the blog which Dr Mahathir had been using to air his views.

Instead of blogging them, Zahid said it was better for Dr Mahathir to discuss them through the proper channels.

“Personalities like Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak or any of the party’s vice-presidents are very good listeners and very open-minded people,” he said.

Rabu, 10 September 2008

IPOH: Having Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad rejoin Umno is a good move as he could help strengthen the party that is facing various problems now, Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

“Personally, I think bringing Tun back is a good move,” he told reporters after attending a buka puasa gathering with Perak Umno leaders on Tuesday.

Zahid, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, was responding to a news report on Wednesday that the former party president had agreed to rejoin Umno after having resigned from the party in May.

Zahidsaid he was certain that Dr Mahathir had not been persuaded to return to Umno.

“It might be because Dr Mahathir was of the view that it was time for him to return to Umno to strengthen the party which was now facing various problems,” Zahid added.

“I don’t think anyone in Umno should be worried about Tun returning to the fold,” he said.

On how party leaders would handle Dr Mahathir if the former prime minister continued to make strong statements against the current leadership after his return to Umno, Zahid said:

“We really need Tun to give his advice and views but those opinions should be made behind closed doors and not openly through the media.

“His views should be deemed opinions of a statesman. We respect Tun as a statesman and the former leader of the party,” he added.

Zahid also clarified that the media included the blog which Dr Mahathir had been using to air his views.

Instead of blogging them, Zahid said it was better for Dr Mahathir to discuss them through the proper channels.

“Personalities like Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak or any of the party’s vice-presidents are very good listeners and very open-minded people,” he said.

IPOH: Having Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad rejoin Umno is a good move as he could help strengthen the party that is facing various problems now, Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

“Personally, I think bringing Tun back is a good move,” he told reporters after attending a buka puasa gathering with Perak Umno leaders on Tuesday.

Zahid, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, was responding to a news report on Wednesday that the former party president had agreed to rejoin Umno after having resigned from the party in May.

Zahid said he was certain that Dr Mahathir had not been persuaded to return to Umno.

“It might be because Dr Mahathir was of the view that it was time for him to return to Umno to strengthen the party which was now facing various problems,” Zahidadded.

“I don’t think anyone in Umno should be worried about Tun returning to the fold,” he said.

On how party leaders would handle Dr Mahathir if the former prime minister continued to make strong statements against the current leadership after his return to Umno, Zahid said:

“We really need Tun to give his advice and views but those opinions should be made behind closed doors and not openly through the media.

“His views should be deemed opinions of a statesman. We respect Tun as a statesman and the former leader of the party,” he added.

Zahid also clarified that the media included the blog which Dr Mahathir had been using to air his views.

Instead of blogging them, Zahidsaid it was better for Dr Mahathir to discuss them through the proper channels.

“Personalities like Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak or any of the party’s vice-presidents are very good listeners and very open-minded people,” he said.